


Forward Motion

by saiditallbefore



Category: The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: 5 Times, Angst, Canonical Character Death, F/F, Historical Inaccuracy, Historical References, Minor Andy | Andromache of Scythia/Quynh | Noriko, Post-Canon, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-11
Updated: 2020-09-11
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:36:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26368816
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saiditallbefore/pseuds/saiditallbefore
Summary: It's impossible for two people, no matter how immortal to see everything-- but they've seen more of the world than most.Or, five places Andy and Quynh visited together.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 31
Collections: We die afen and afen





	Forward Motion

**Author's Note:**

  * For [donutsweeper](https://archiveofourown.org/users/donutsweeper/gifts).



i. 

Andy and Quynh had already been traveling together for some years. Still, the world never ceased to amaze Quynh. 

Knossos was utterly unlike the village where Quynh had grown up, or any of the countless villages she had lived in or passed through in the years since then. It was an island city, built around a large palace complex. The walls were painted with beautiful frescoes, and the women wore clothing weaved in complex patterns that Quynh had not seen elsewhere.

“I think that one looks like you,” Andromache said.

Quynh looked at the fresco Andromache was pointing to. The woman in it dark hair like Quynh’s, but as far as she was concerned, that was the only resemblance. “Like me?” 

“You don’t see it? In the nose—” Andromache gestured at the nose area, as though Quynh might have forgotten where it was.

Quynh shook her head, hiding a smile. “You’re being ridiculous.”

* * *

ii. 

Neither Andromache nor Quynh was as fascinated by Alexandria as Lykon was. They had traveled further afield than he, and seen greater things. But Lykon was entranced by the wonders of the city: by the Mouseion, which housed the great Library and the hundreds of scholars who called Alexandria their home; by the Pharos of Alexandria, taller than any other structure in the known world; by the people, who were a mix of Greek and Egyptian, with a handful of travelers from all over.

Lykon was bent over his papyrus and reed pen, when Andromache and Quynh entered the house they all shared.

“Did we interrupt something?” Andromache asked.

Lykon shook his head. “I’m just trying to write a response to yesterday’s astronomy lecture. But it isn’t urgent.”

“Tell us about it,” Quynh said.

“He was expanding on the idea of the Eudoxan model of the solar system,” Lykon began. “Now, I’m just an amateur, but that didn’t seem entirely right to me.”

* * *

iii. 

Under other circumstances, Constantinople would have been a fantastic place to live: a bustling city well known for its trade and its art. 

Unfortunately, Quynh and Andromache had only come to Constantinople after Lykon’s death. Everywhere they went in the city, Andromache saw something that reminded her of their lost friend— that reminded her that death could come for either of them at any time. 

Andromache was lying in bed, trying not to think about Lykon or the inevitability of death, when Quynh threw a shirt at her face.

“Come on,” Quynh said. “Time to pack.”

“Pack for what?” Andromache asked.

“We have a job guarding a trade caravan,” Quynh said. She sat down next to Andromache, stroking her hair. “We’re running low on funds.”

Andromache heard what Quynh _wasn’t_ saying: staying in one place was too hard for them. They needed a distraction, and this job would do the trick.

“Alright,” Andromache said, sitting up. “I’ll pack, and you can tell me about our new clients.”

* * *

iv. 

Quynh paused at the statue of the lioness, marking the main road of Khanbaliq. She’d been here twice before by now; this was the third trade caravan that she and Andromache had guided between Khanbaliq and Constantinople. The city had only grown in that time, springing up around the Imperial Palace. 

Andromache slung an arm around her shoulders. “There you are.”

“I didn’t mean to keep you waiting,” Quynh said. 

“We have time,” Andromache said. She smiled at her joke; Quynh rolled her eyes.

“The market is going to close eventually.” Quynh pulled Andromache along behind her. “And then what will you do?”

Andromache was still smiling. “I’m sure I’ll think of something.” 

* * *

v. 

Andy disliked museums; they made her feel her true age. But the team had been following a lead on a series of stolen artifacts that led them to the British Museum, and Andy was keeping watch. 

It was boring work. The Greek collection was fascinating, though; Andromache was quite sure that at least a few of the theories alluded to on the plaques were wrong.

She was just admiring a vase, remembering when it would have been in fashion, when she heard the voice that haunted her dreams.

“Andromache.”

“Quynh.” Andy drank her in. She’d known that Quynh was alive and well, thanks to Nile, and yet it was entirely different to see her, here and in the flesh. 

Quynh tilted her head, looking at the vase. “Makes you feel all nostalgic, doesn’t it?”

Andy hummed in agreement. “A bit, yes.” She cast about for something to say, but was interrupted by an alarm going off, somewhere deep in the building.

“Sorry,” she said to Quynh. “I think that’s my cue.”

“Until next time, then,” Quynh said.

When Andy looked back, Quynh was still standing there, in front of the Greek vase. 

She didn’t look back again.


End file.
